In China, tea eggs are mostly eaten as a snack or sometimes with a bowl of rice or porridge. Famous blogger Pat Tanumihardja, author of The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook, and Smithsonian food blog Pickles and Tea have praised the tea eggs for their beauty, which makes them hard to eat. At the same time, the authors also assert that in Shanghai, you can enjoy delicious tea eggs, even from street vendors or convenience stores. The great thing about tea eggs is that they can be eaten all year round.
Typically, the process of making tea eggs involves two parts: boiling the eggs, cracking the shells, and then simmering them in a mixture of tea, spices, and herbs. The resulting eggs, when peeled off to enjoy, look like extremely lovely and eye-catching marbles with a delicious and delicate flavor. Depending on the time of boiling the eggs and simmering in the tea water, the tea eggs will have a mild or strong flavor, and the color of the eggs will also be different, from light to dark brown.
Another interesting point of tea eggs is that you can create different flavors with different teas and herbs, even with Lipton tea. However, Shanghai oolong tea is the number one choice with the most authentic flavor. You can also enjoy tea eggs differently each time by changing the doneness of the eggs. Sometimes it is dry red, sometimes peach pink, sometimes like white powder, from soft to firm…
For tea eggs, the key lies in three things: the tea, the eggs, and how the eggs are cracked.
Tea – of course it is very important, the selection and storage, brewing of tea is the most important step. The tea needs to be brewed and boiled enough to infuse the flavor into the egg, but not too strong.
With eggs, getting them to be both soft and bursting with flavor is no easy task. First, leave the eggs out of the refrigerator for a few hours. After boiling water, gently and quickly lower the eggs into it with a large spoon – absolutely do not drop or crack the eggs. After about 7 minutes, turn off the heat, quickly drop the eggs into the ice water until they are completely cooled.
In the meantime, prepare the tea mixture by bringing it to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes to let the flavors infuse into the water. Then turn off the heat, remove the lid and let it cool.
When the eggs are cool, use a metal spoon to crack them quickly and firmly, but use enough force to create spiderweb-like cracks that allow the flavor of the tea to penetrate.
Finally, after soaking the eggs in the tea for about 24 hours (in the refrigerator), you can enjoy this special and delicate afternoon tea. If you want a stronger flavor, soak the eggs in the tea for 3 to 4 days for a new flavor.
Article: Thu Nguyen | Photos: Various authors
